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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Movie Review: Moneyball

Before I begin, I want to make something perfectly clear.  I am not a movie critic.  I am just a girl who likes movies.  When I review movies on this blog, it will be from the perspective of someone who wants to be entertained.  It won't be from the perspective of an artsy insider.  And with that, I present my thoughts on  Moneyball.

The movie is about Billy Beane, GM of the Oakland A's.  He faces the daunting task of building a winning baseball team on a shoestring budget.  The movie is based on the non-fiction book by the same name.  Moneyball obviously centers around baseball, but in many ways it is not really a sports movie.  It is as much about business and innovative leadership as it is about sports.  There are very few scenes of the team actually playing ball on the field.  It makes sense that the drama is not driven by game action because the people who anticipated this movie the most already know how the important games will end.

Brad Pitt stars as Billy Beane.  Pitt is very natural and comfortable in this role, including his nonchalant use of a spit cup during team meetings.  Jonah Hill plays a character named William Brand.  Beane and the Brand character, as played by Pitt and Hill are striking contrasts in age, affect and appearance.  It's highly entertaining to watch their interaction as they team up in the A's front office.

In summary, I heartily recommend Moneyball.  It is a good use of two hours.  It will appeal to hardcore baseball fans.  It will appeal to movie fans who enjoy well-written dialogue.  And, it will appeal to those who just enjoy spending two hours with Brad Pitt.  In other words, it will appeal to virtually everyone.

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